Lemony Snicket

I am, in fact, very proud of it: it’s the VFD eye from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It’s modified slightly from the one displayed in the books, because, in all honestly, the one in the book changes every single time it is drawn. So, using the descriptions from the book as my starting point, and then integrating the illustrations, I designed what eventually ended up on my ankle. I got this tattoo in the summer of 2010, after waffling back and forth for several years. I had wanted to get it pretty much since the end of the book series for several reasons: firstly, because the series is my favorite book series (tied with Harry Potter, but a lightning bolt scar was right out), and secondly, because the organization of VFD–that is, the original version, before the schism–stands for bringing nobility and structure to a world gone mad, something I respect very much and strive to do in my own life, in my own way.

V.F.D. members have been known to participate in various (and often unusual) academic pursuits, cryptography, disguise training, crime prevention, espionage, animal conditioning projects, and social activism. The organization’s most known tenets include both extreme secrecy and dedication to the organization itself, with membership beginning from early childhood. Its motto is “The world is quiet here.”

Since the schism, V.F.D. has realized that it is unwise to permanently mark oneself with a symbol when the meaning of the symbol may change at any moment, so people who now join V.F.D. do not receive a tattoo anymore.

I’d had the outline done for nearly a year, then when I went back to Ukraine I added the eyeball. It looks awesome, and much props to Artyom in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, for doing such a fabulous freehand job.

“When we grab you by the ankles Where our mark is to be made you’ll soon be doing noble work Although you won’t be paid When we drive away in secret You’ll be a volunteer So don’t scream where we take you; The world is quiet here.”

Attached is a photograph of my own V.F.D. tattoo, located on the inside of my left ankle, from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It’s different from most you’ll see in that it’s based on Bret Helquist‘s drawing in the ninth book, The Carnivorous Carnival. I chose this design over the other one because it was more obviously an eye, and less obviously the letters V.F.D.

I am the proud bearer of a literary tattoo myself, as shown in the enclosed image – that’s the VFD logo from A Series of Unfortunate Events by the inimitably fictitious Lemony Snicket. In the style of Mr. Snicket, I can only say that the story behind this tattoo involves a concrete cave, a very rude girl, the Floridian Sister Act of 1984, and a specially-modified seat in Rows 4 and 6 of a particular amusement thrill ride.